Photos on social media show an entire section of the Qinglian arch bridge wiped away in a visibly swollen Tongkou River. The two-lane Qinglian Bridge was built in 1967 and a replacement span is under construction.

A red rainstorm signal was raised by Sichuan’s meteorological authorities on Tuesday morning, which indicated rainfall was greater than 100mm.

China operates a four-colour-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Heavy rain was forecasted by the National Meteorological Centre for much of the country’s north this week.

The centre said some areas of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces as well as the Sichuan Basin would see rainfall of 100mm to 180mm from Monday to Tuesday, accompanied by thunderstorms and gales.